LakeShow
05-25-2008, 05:53 PM
It's the Lake Show and rest of league can only watch
May 24, 2008
By Gregg Doyel (http://www.sportsline.com/columns/writers/doyel)
CBSSports.com National Columnist
Tell Gregg your opinion! (http://www.sportsline.com/columns/writers/doyel)
LOS ANGELES -- It took more than a month, but the NBA playoffs finally have a team worthy of an NBA title. The Los Angeles Lakers (http://www.sportsline.com/nba/teams/page/LAL) who walked onto the court Friday night at the Staples Center had been very good this postseason -- sweeping Denver in the first round, finishing off Utah in the second, then rallying from a 20-point deficit Wednesday against San Antonio.
But the Lakers who walked off the court Friday night were something else entirely.
http://images.sportsline.com/u/photos/basketball/nba/img10839650.jpg If you were Kobe or Lamar, you'd be smiling, too. (Getty Images) They were unbeatable.
And unless the Spurs are stupid, they know it. But this is bigger than the Spurs. This encompasses the Pistons and the Celtics, too, because the Lakers who demolished San Antonio 101-71 on Friday night are the best team in basketball.
There's no guarantee these same Lakers from Friday night will show up Sunday when the Western Conference finals shift to San Antonio. There's no guarantee that these same Lakers will show up even one more time this postseason.
But here's a guarantee: If they do, there's not a team in the NBA that can beat them.
This came out of nowhere, too.
The teams were tied at 37 with two minutes left in a mostly dismal first half that saw both coaches make changes, neither change working. The Spurs' Gregg Popovich returned Manu Ginobili (http://www.sportsline.com/nba/players/playerpage/139066), ineffective in Game 1, to his sixth-man role. The Lakers' Phil Jackson double-teamed Duncan after he'd torched single coverage for 30 points and 18 rebounds in Game 1. Ginobili stayed ineffective (no points, two turnovers in the first half) and Duncan stayed dominant (10 points, 13 rebounds in the half).
The sum total was a stalemate through 22 minutes. Tied at 37, this was anybody's game. This was anybody's series.
These were anybody's playoffs.
And then the Lakers staked their claim to all of it.
They broke open the game with an 8-0 run to finish the half. Then they kept rolling. After scoring 13 points in the first half, Kobe Bryant (http://www.sportsline.com/nba/players/playerpage/6496) scored the Lakers' first seven of the third quarter. The Lakers led 53-41, but this wasn't a rehash of Game 1. This wasn't Kobe and his sorry little supporting cast.
Bryant was spectacular, but he had help. Lamar Odom (http://www.sportsline.com/nba/players/playerpage/139087) (20 points, 12 rebounds) was attacking the rim and dunking, and he was catching passes on the perimeter and drilling jumpers, and he was blocking four shots, including back-to-back rejections as the Lakers were breaking it open in the third quarter. First he pinned a Tony Parker (http://www.sportsline.com/nba/players/playerpage/240304) drive against the glass. Then he swatted a Robert Horry (http://www.sportsline.com/nba/players/playerpage/6620) jumper out of bounds.
Pau Gasol (http://www.sportsline.com/nba/players/playerpage/240285) wasn't just looking big -- he was playing big. And don't tell me this undermines what I wrote Thursday. (http://www.sportsline.com/columns/story/10837676) This supports it. It's not about stats with Gasol, because his stats have so often been misleading. He's made a career out of putting up soft 20-and-10 games while shooting what his own coach, Jackson, called "weenie shots -- weenie-ing it up there," after the game.
On Friday night Gasol had a relatively meager 10 points and seven rebounds -- but when the Lakers were putting the Spurs away, he was filet mignon. Gasol shut down Duncan in the pivotal third quarter on defense and showed all kinds of heart on offense, posting up Duncan for a short jumper shortly after he drilled Ginobili to the deck with a screen. Kung-Pau!
It wasn't just the Lakers' best three players, either. Derek Fisher (http://www.sportsline.com/nba/players/playerpage/6572) wasn't content to jack jumpers. He attacked the rim early and found the Spurs' defense soft, setting a tone for both teams. Sasha Vujacic (http://www.sportsline.com/nba/players/playerpage/498324) and Jordan Farmar (http://www.sportsline.com/nba/players/playerpage/1113154) didn't just give the Lakers minutes off the bench. They gave the Lakers production, combining for 21 mostly perimeter points.
This was an all-out fusillade, and the Spurs crumbled. Ginobili looked like a jalopy. Parker couldn't score from beyond four feet. Michael Finley (http://www.sportsline.com/nba/players/playerpage/6571) and Ime Udoka (http://www.sportsline.com/nba/players/playerpage/205922) and Bruce Bowen (http://www.sportsline.com/nba/players/playerpage/6485) were all the same guy, and that guy sucked.
And Duncan? He completely disappeared in the second half. I blame his foul shooting. Duncan was 0-for-4 from the line in the first half, and he stormed off the court in frustration after missing two foul shots shortly before the break, then missed the offensive rebound putback. Duncan spent halftime working on his free throws, shooting each shot within three seconds instead of his typical 10-second impression of a statue, and it worked -- he hit 10 straight. After the 10th he shook his head and walked off the court.
Duncan clearly didn't want to go back to the line for the third quarter. He didn't attack the rim, choosing instead to kick passes out. He played all 12 minutes of the third quarter and attempted one shot. Popovich gave him the fourth quarter off, but after his invisible third quarter, who could tell?
Popovich is pissed, by the way. He didn't bother accepting any of the blame for this mess. He pointed his finger at Parker specifically, saying: "I thought Tony was a little tentative tonight. He missed a couple and he backed away from it. He didn't have confidence for whatever reason. I think in the future he'll have to be more aggressive, shot-wise. He just didn't feel like taking them for some reason."
And then Popovich sprayed his entire locker room, the coaching staff excluded.
"The bottom line isn't about X's and O's," he said. "We have to have more people playing better. We definitely have to have more people playing better to get this done."
The bottom line is even simpler than that: If the Lakers play like they played Friday night, the Spurs are finished -- and the winner of the Eastern Conference will be irrelevant, too. Detroit doesn't have the firepower. Boston doesn't have the heart. This isn't (necessarily) a prediction that the Lakers are going to roll to the NBA title, because it's up to Los Angeles to play as well as it played in Game 2.
But I will go so far as to say this:
The Lakers that we saw on Friday are too good for the NBA we've seen all season.
May 24, 2008
By Gregg Doyel (http://www.sportsline.com/columns/writers/doyel)
CBSSports.com National Columnist
Tell Gregg your opinion! (http://www.sportsline.com/columns/writers/doyel)
LOS ANGELES -- It took more than a month, but the NBA playoffs finally have a team worthy of an NBA title. The Los Angeles Lakers (http://www.sportsline.com/nba/teams/page/LAL) who walked onto the court Friday night at the Staples Center had been very good this postseason -- sweeping Denver in the first round, finishing off Utah in the second, then rallying from a 20-point deficit Wednesday against San Antonio.
But the Lakers who walked off the court Friday night were something else entirely.
http://images.sportsline.com/u/photos/basketball/nba/img10839650.jpg If you were Kobe or Lamar, you'd be smiling, too. (Getty Images) They were unbeatable.
And unless the Spurs are stupid, they know it. But this is bigger than the Spurs. This encompasses the Pistons and the Celtics, too, because the Lakers who demolished San Antonio 101-71 on Friday night are the best team in basketball.
There's no guarantee these same Lakers from Friday night will show up Sunday when the Western Conference finals shift to San Antonio. There's no guarantee that these same Lakers will show up even one more time this postseason.
But here's a guarantee: If they do, there's not a team in the NBA that can beat them.
This came out of nowhere, too.
The teams were tied at 37 with two minutes left in a mostly dismal first half that saw both coaches make changes, neither change working. The Spurs' Gregg Popovich returned Manu Ginobili (http://www.sportsline.com/nba/players/playerpage/139066), ineffective in Game 1, to his sixth-man role. The Lakers' Phil Jackson double-teamed Duncan after he'd torched single coverage for 30 points and 18 rebounds in Game 1. Ginobili stayed ineffective (no points, two turnovers in the first half) and Duncan stayed dominant (10 points, 13 rebounds in the half).
The sum total was a stalemate through 22 minutes. Tied at 37, this was anybody's game. This was anybody's series.
These were anybody's playoffs.
And then the Lakers staked their claim to all of it.
They broke open the game with an 8-0 run to finish the half. Then they kept rolling. After scoring 13 points in the first half, Kobe Bryant (http://www.sportsline.com/nba/players/playerpage/6496) scored the Lakers' first seven of the third quarter. The Lakers led 53-41, but this wasn't a rehash of Game 1. This wasn't Kobe and his sorry little supporting cast.
Bryant was spectacular, but he had help. Lamar Odom (http://www.sportsline.com/nba/players/playerpage/139087) (20 points, 12 rebounds) was attacking the rim and dunking, and he was catching passes on the perimeter and drilling jumpers, and he was blocking four shots, including back-to-back rejections as the Lakers were breaking it open in the third quarter. First he pinned a Tony Parker (http://www.sportsline.com/nba/players/playerpage/240304) drive against the glass. Then he swatted a Robert Horry (http://www.sportsline.com/nba/players/playerpage/6620) jumper out of bounds.
Pau Gasol (http://www.sportsline.com/nba/players/playerpage/240285) wasn't just looking big -- he was playing big. And don't tell me this undermines what I wrote Thursday. (http://www.sportsline.com/columns/story/10837676) This supports it. It's not about stats with Gasol, because his stats have so often been misleading. He's made a career out of putting up soft 20-and-10 games while shooting what his own coach, Jackson, called "weenie shots -- weenie-ing it up there," after the game.
On Friday night Gasol had a relatively meager 10 points and seven rebounds -- but when the Lakers were putting the Spurs away, he was filet mignon. Gasol shut down Duncan in the pivotal third quarter on defense and showed all kinds of heart on offense, posting up Duncan for a short jumper shortly after he drilled Ginobili to the deck with a screen. Kung-Pau!
It wasn't just the Lakers' best three players, either. Derek Fisher (http://www.sportsline.com/nba/players/playerpage/6572) wasn't content to jack jumpers. He attacked the rim early and found the Spurs' defense soft, setting a tone for both teams. Sasha Vujacic (http://www.sportsline.com/nba/players/playerpage/498324) and Jordan Farmar (http://www.sportsline.com/nba/players/playerpage/1113154) didn't just give the Lakers minutes off the bench. They gave the Lakers production, combining for 21 mostly perimeter points.
This was an all-out fusillade, and the Spurs crumbled. Ginobili looked like a jalopy. Parker couldn't score from beyond four feet. Michael Finley (http://www.sportsline.com/nba/players/playerpage/6571) and Ime Udoka (http://www.sportsline.com/nba/players/playerpage/205922) and Bruce Bowen (http://www.sportsline.com/nba/players/playerpage/6485) were all the same guy, and that guy sucked.
And Duncan? He completely disappeared in the second half. I blame his foul shooting. Duncan was 0-for-4 from the line in the first half, and he stormed off the court in frustration after missing two foul shots shortly before the break, then missed the offensive rebound putback. Duncan spent halftime working on his free throws, shooting each shot within three seconds instead of his typical 10-second impression of a statue, and it worked -- he hit 10 straight. After the 10th he shook his head and walked off the court.
Duncan clearly didn't want to go back to the line for the third quarter. He didn't attack the rim, choosing instead to kick passes out. He played all 12 minutes of the third quarter and attempted one shot. Popovich gave him the fourth quarter off, but after his invisible third quarter, who could tell?
Popovich is pissed, by the way. He didn't bother accepting any of the blame for this mess. He pointed his finger at Parker specifically, saying: "I thought Tony was a little tentative tonight. He missed a couple and he backed away from it. He didn't have confidence for whatever reason. I think in the future he'll have to be more aggressive, shot-wise. He just didn't feel like taking them for some reason."
And then Popovich sprayed his entire locker room, the coaching staff excluded.
"The bottom line isn't about X's and O's," he said. "We have to have more people playing better. We definitely have to have more people playing better to get this done."
The bottom line is even simpler than that: If the Lakers play like they played Friday night, the Spurs are finished -- and the winner of the Eastern Conference will be irrelevant, too. Detroit doesn't have the firepower. Boston doesn't have the heart. This isn't (necessarily) a prediction that the Lakers are going to roll to the NBA title, because it's up to Los Angeles to play as well as it played in Game 2.
But I will go so far as to say this:
The Lakers that we saw on Friday are too good for the NBA we've seen all season.